From railway tunnel to Burnaby original: storied Edwardian for €2.3m

Although the Bray to Greystones railway route was mainly completed by one of the most important Irish engineers of the 19th century, William Dargan, the initial role in tackling the tunnels that had to be carved through Precambrian bedrock is attributed to a man called Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Briton of Huguenot descent.

At the time of the development of the Burnaby, in essence Ireland’s first planned housing estate, which took place between 1880 and 1905, much of the rubble cleared out from the tunnels went into the construction of what are now deemed to be some of the finest houses in the seaside town of Greystones.

At the early part of the last century, another man with a most unusual name built a property called the Tunnel. Amadeus Francis Valentine, having built the Edwardian home at a cost of £750, sold it immediately for £950.

“When we bought the house, in 2003, I really wanted to understand its history, so headed off to the library and discovered that the excavated material from the tunnels was used to build the Burnaby, and so explains the theory of how the house got its name,” says the owner, who is downsizing.

“It had been used in part as a doctor’s surgery and was typical of some of the houses in the Burnaby as it had lots of dark little rooms, with lots of higgledy-piggledy sheds out the back. We spent six months living there and decided what we wanted to change. It took more than nine months to finish, as not only did we have to replumb and wire everything, but all the sheds were knocked and the kitchen was extended to become one large space,” explains the owner.

Although an architect drew up plans for the tunnel, the owner felt they were too contemporary for the four-bedroom period house, and so engaged builder Ciaran Demery of Doyle and Demery Construction. "Ciaran had done quite a few properties in the Burnaby and had a really good feel for what was possible, so in the end we used his designs which were done in conjunction with an engineer and surveyor."

Gone are the poky rooms and the former cubbyhole that served as a reception to the former doctor’s surgery. They have been replaced with a bright and spacious house that now extends to a generous 325sq m (3,500sq ft) of accommodation over two floors.

Small details such as exposed oak beams in the kitchen from which light pendants now hang and a new inglenook in the main living room add interest to this lovely home.

“Greystones is a really lovely place to raise kids, and you see many adults who grew up in the area now returning to rear their young families here. While it is a town, it has more of a village feel as people greet each other in such a friendly way.” Indeed, the town of Greystones took the award in 2021 as the world’s most liveable community in the LivCom awards.

Though the house is now devoid of furniture – which is evident in the video – the photographs give a greater indication of space within the C2-rated Edwardian house, which is now on the market through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €2.3m.